The low skating position restricts working-muscle blood flow: in the low crouch VO2peak and VO2 at 4 mmol/L lactate fell well below cycling, and maximal cardiac output fell in both skating positions through a smaller stroke volume
Participants
n=10 speed skaters.
Protocol
Submaximal and maximal cycling (CE) and in-line skating in a low (knee angle 107°, SkL) and a high (knee angle 112°, SkH) position.
Supporting experiments: muscle desaturation and lactate during on-ice skating, and muscle desaturation during static exercise at different joint angles.
Key Findings
(values: cycling vs low skating vs high skating)
VO2peak: 4.28 vs 3.83 vs 4.26 L/min — reduced in the low position only.
VO2 at 4 mmol/L lactate: 3.38 vs 1.93 vs 3.31 L/min — reduced in the low position only.
Maximal cardiac output: 33.2 vs 25.3 vs 25.6 L/min — reduced in both skating positions; not from HRmax (197 vs 192 vs 193 b/min) but from stroke volume (172 vs 135 vs 134 mL/beat), linked to higher calculated systemic vascular resistance (354 vs 483 vs 453, units as printed in the abstract: dynes·s⁻¹·cm⁻¹).
Vastus lateralis desaturation at maximal effort (NIRS): 50.3 vs 74.9 vs 60.4% of maximal desaturation during cuff ischaemia — greatest in the low position.
Supporting data: more desaturation at smaller knee angles in static exercise, and more desaturation with faster lactate accumulation on ice in the low vs high position.
Authors' conclusion: physiological responses during speed skating are dominated by restricted blood flow, from high intramuscular forces, the long duty cycle of the stroke, or both.
Practical Application
In 10 speed skaters, skating in a low position (knee angle 107°) cut VO2peak from 4.28 L/min in cycling to 3.83 and VO2 at 4 mmol/L lactate from 3.38 to 1.93, with maximal cardiac output 25.3 vs 33.2 L/min; a slightly higher position (112°) restored VO2peak (4.26) but not cardiac output (25.6). A few degrees of knee angle change the aerobic cost of the position a lot.
Inference, not tested: cycling tests overstate the aerobic capacity usable in the crouch; position-specific conditioning is where that capacity is built.
Inference, not tested: when coaching position depth, weigh the aerodynamic gain of a lower crouch against this blood-flow cost.
Limitations
Small sample (n=10); main comparisons made on in-line skates, with on-ice data as support.
Klapskate-era mechanics may modestly shift the numbers.
The abstract does not state the skaters' performance level; the Tier line reflects the entry's original reading.
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
regraded 2026-09-27 from B+: crossover, n=10
Content correction 2026-09-27
Level B+ -> B (crossover, n=10).
"VO2peak, VO2 at 4 mmol and cardiac output all reduced vs cycling" -> true for the low position; the high position kept VO2peak and VO2 at 4 mmol near cycling values while cardiac output fell in both. Added all abstract values.
"Long glide" -> "long duty cycle of the stroke"; practical advice labelled as inference.